Not a Drill
by Lynnlee22
Summary: Victoria/Billy/Phyllis
1. Chapter 1

"Damn." Victoria cursed under her breath as she slammed her laptop shut, "I do NOT have time for this." She was on her feet in moments before noticing Johnny's wide eyes looking up at her in judgment.

"I know," she sighed, "Mommy shouldn't say bad words. She's just really frustrated right now because she doesn't have time for fire drills since she's really, really busy."

"At school they say you always have to act like it's the real thing," Johnny parroted, still looking up at his mother with slight condemnation.

Victoria smiled through gritted teeth as she tousled his hair while ushering him from the office. "Gotta love that school," she muttered. Her eyes scanned the lab area as she felt Johnny pull his hand from her grasp. "Where's your sister?" she yelled, opening the outside door and looking at the empty corridor. She turned back to face Johnny who stood with both hands clasped over his ears.

"Johnny," she said again, pulling one hand away from his ear. "Where's Katie?"

Johnny shrugged and jerked his hand back, placing it back over his ear and scrunching his face up in displeasure.

"Your Dad probably got her," Victoria sighed, pushing him towards the stairs. "We'll make sure when we get outside."

* * *

"Jack!" Billy's yelled his brother's name again, struggling to keep sight of his brother through the crowd of people that gathered outside the building. "Jack!" he called again, exhaling with relief as he saw the eldest Abbot turn to face the sound. He pushed through the dense congregation of people to reach him, breathing hard as he continued. "Have you seen Phyllis?"

"Already having trouble keeping up with her, huh?" Jack smirked, not able to resist a chance to get a quick dig in, "That doesn't bode well for a long and happy relationship."

"Come on, Jack…can you give it a rest for a second. I'm serious. Have you seen her? I know she was in her office earlier, but I can't find her out here and she's not answering her phone. I just want to make sure she's not still in there."

Jack shook his head. "I haven't seen her, but that alarm can be heard everywhere. She'd have to be crazy to ignore it and Phyllis isn't…." He stopped looking Billy up and down. "Well, I used to think Phyllis wasn't crazy…now…" He smirked again before walking away.

"Billy!"

He closed his eyes as he felt relief flood his body, turning gratefully towards the sound of his name.

"Vic," he said, his face falling. He smiled as he saw Johnny by her side. "Hey buddy. You come to work with Mom today?" He started to stoop down to his level but stopped as he saw the concern settling on her face. "Vic—something wrong?"

"Where's Katie?" Victoria could feel her heart racing inside her chest. "You've got her, right? You've got Katie?"

His heart dropped, suddenly understanding her look and matching it with a look of his own. "What do you mean…I haven't seen Katie today. Is she here? Is she with you?"

"She was in the lab. She was coloring and when the alarm went off she was gone. I figured you had come by and taken her out. I thought she was with you!" In an instant the tone of her voice changed from concerned to manic. "I thought she was with you!"

"I would never take her without telling you, Vic. You know that! So you just left…you just left without her?! God, Vic. She's probably scared to death." Billy glanced around, looking for the fire marshall. "God only know how's long we'll be out here. These things can take forever if they don't have the right counts."

The sound of sirens echoed through the distance and the crowd seemed to part as the flashing lights and fire engines surrounded the building.

Billy felt a hand on his shoulder and turned slowly to face her.

"Do they call the fire engines for drills, Billy?" She could answer her own question. She'd been a CEO of a major company before. She knew how these things worked, but she couldn't stand to say the words herself. She needed to live in the denial for as long as she could.

"No," he whispered, his throat instantly parched and thick. "No they don't."

* * *

Phyllis hissed as she braced her hand against the wall, gripping the flat surface as much as she could. She looked down at her foot, already beginning to swell, the bone in her ankle bent in a completely unnatural way. These weren't stair-climbing shoes, but she wasn't expecting to be climbing stairs today. Another surge of pain ripped through her as she attempted another step towards her office door. If she could make it to her office at least she could get to a chair. There she could wait it out until the drill was over. She'd have to endure the wrath of the fire marshall for ignoring the alarm, but that seemed a far easier burden than trying to cart herself down the stairs in her current state.

"They could at least kill the damn alarm," she yelled, as if someone might hear her and obey her command. Her shoulders heaved in frustration as the sound continued to echo throughout the otherwise silent building. Finally she reached her door and, bracing her weight on the handle she managed to haul herself inside. Shutting the door behind her, she sighed in relief, happy the thick barrier at least muffled the sound somewhat.

For a moment she leaned against the door, reveling in her small accomplishment. A strange sound caught her attention and she leaned further into the office in an attempt to locate it. Her laptop was closed and charging and she knew of nothing that would make such a sound. Her phone was within her sight line and the screen was black with no notifications that would cause such a noise. Phyllis braced her hand on the corner of the desk, managing a large step towards her desk. She tilted her head as the noise grew louder, and smiled slightly as she glanced underneath the desk. "Katie," she breathed, surprised, but not upset to see the child there. "What are you doing under there?"

Katie glanced up at her, a sly smile on her face. "Playing the elephant game," she said softly. "Am I in trouble?"

Phyllis glanced around the room before easing herself into her desk chair. "With who?" she grinned, "With me?"

Katie nodded, her eyes wide as she looked up at her.

"No," Phyllis sighed. "You're not in trouble, but I bet there are a lot of people that are really worried about you…and you might be in a little bit of trouble with them." She couldn't help but smile as she watched the little girl's nose scrunch up in displeasure. "Tell you what." She leaned down a bit, lowering her voice to a whisper, "I'll try to get them to forgive you…just this once, okay?"

She nodded happily, as she crawled out from under the desk.

"Can you do me a favor?" Phyllis pointed over to the corner of the desk. "Can you hand me that phone over there? I just want to call and let everybody know that you're okay. They're having a fire drill and I'm sure there are people looking for you out there…and probably for me too."

Billy grabbed his phone, putting it to his ear before checking the ID. "Hello? Hello?"

"Billy?"

"God, Phyllis." The relief lasted only for a moment as he realized his child was still missing. "Where are you? I haven't been able to find you out here? You're not with Katie by any chance are you?"

"Yeah, actually I am. She wanted to play the elephant game on my Ipad."

Tears of relief stung his eyes as he waved his hand wildly towards Victoria. "Vic!" he hissed. "Vic! It's okay. It's okay. Katie is with Phyllis. She's playing a game on her Ipad."

"Sorry," he said into the phone again. "We were going crazy thinking Katie might still be in there," he said softly. "So where are you two out here? Are you on the other side of the building?"

"No, Billy….we're still in the building. We're in my office, but we're fine…everything's okay. Just let them know that I really hurt my ankle and I can't get out there right now. If they need to redo the drill, that's fine, but I can't climb down those stairs." The sound of jagged breathing was the only response she heard. "Billy," she said again. "Billy did you hear me?" She could hear his voice, the sound of words being relayed frantically to someone. "Billy!"

"Phyllis." His voice was calm…too calm. "I need you to listen to me. Stay in the office. Keep the door closed. If there's anything you can use to block the space at the bottom of the door, do that. Do it now."

"What? Why? I mean it's a drill, right?" She glanced down at Katie who now sat in her lap, her tiny hands busied with the game.

"No," he said quietly. "Jabot's on fire."


	2. Chapter 2

"It's okay. It's alright. Everything's fine now." Victoria ran her fingers through her hair in relief as she frantically tried to explain everything to Jack. "We couldn't find Katie and we were afraid she might have been still in the building, but Billy just got in touch with Phyllis and apparently Katie's with her, so he's just trying to find out where Phyllis is out here and…."

Victoria stopped, realizing Jack's attention was no longer focused on her but rather behind her. She turned, her eyes falling on Billy who screamed at a police officer that stood on the other side of a barricade. Without much effort, she managed to maneuver her slight frame through the mass of people. She could feel Jack's presence behind her as she finally reached Billy. "Billy? What's the matter?"

His face turned towards her, his complexion ashen, his eyes full of absolute fear. He said nothing. He didn't have to. She watched as he looked down at the phone in his hand, seemingly realizing for the first time that he still held it and that it was still on. Bringing it back to his ear, he took in a deep breath. "Phyllis? Phyllis are you still there?"

"Billy?" She felt the breath leave her body suddenly, relieved that he was still there, the sound of his voice somehow giving her a comfort she couldn't quite explain. "What's going on?"

His eyes met Victoria's as he spoke into the phone. "Listen. Just try to stay calm, okay? I'm gonna get someone to get you out of there. They're gonna get both of you out of there. You don't have to worry. You don't need to be scared."

Phyllis nodded then stopped, feeling foolish and realizing he couldn't see her nonverbal response. "Okay," she said softly, her eyes drifting for a second to Katie who still remained completely unbothered by the events. "Katie's fine," she said as nonchalantly as possible. "She's happy with the game."

"Good." Billy swallowed hard. "That's good –it's probably better that you try not to let on that anything's wrong right now. There's tons of firefighters and police here so uh…you might here some sirens and some noise soon…just know that."

"Okay." Phyllis pulled the phone away from her face, looking at the screen for a moment before bringing it back to her ear. "Listen, I should go um…I need to plug in my phone. It's almost dead and just in case we lose power or something."

"Yeah. That's a good idea. You call me, okay?"

"I will…I promise and Billy?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you…so much. I love you." Some couples said those words all the time, but they didn't—not because they didn't feel them, but because the words meant something for them. They weren't casual. They weren't words you used every time you hung up the phone or every time you left for work in the morning. For them, those three words still held a tremendous value and every time they were said, and every time they were heard, it meant something.

Victoria wouldn't approve of her saying the words to Billy with Katie in the room, but Victoria wasn't her priority in that moment. She could hear it in Billy's voice. He could tell her everything would be fine. He could ask her not to worry and not to be afraid, but he was. It was the tremble in his tone. It was the crack in his voice when he said her name. Billy always wore his heart and his emotions on his sleeve. It was one of the things she loved most about him, but it made him transparent and, in moments like these, it made her realize just how much danger she and Katie were in.

The words echoed in his ear and he felt his eyes burn with instantaneous tears. He turned away, letting his eyes close for a moment as he drew in a deep breath. "I love you too," he said softly, "And I'll tell you that again when they get you out of there, okay?"

She smiled. He always knew what to say. "Okay." It wasn't until she heard the call click that she pulled the phone away and slid the chair with her good leg over to the wall to hook it up to charge. Katie stopped playing for a moment and looked up at her.

"Was that my Daddy?" Katie asked.

"It was."

"Is he coming to see us?"

"Soon I hope," Phyllis said, running her hand through Katie's blonde hair. She felt her eyes burn a bit and she bit down on the inside of her lip, willing herself not to cry. "Looks like you're getting that elephant pretty close to dancing, huh?"

* * *

"She's in there with Katie?!" Victoria shrieked, looking back over her shoulder at Jack in pure panic. "I want to talk to her. I want to talk to Katie." She grabbed for the phone as Billy turned around to face them. "Billy," she screamed. "I want to talk to my daughter."

"Phyllis needs to charge her phone." It took everything in him not to scream at the top of his lungs. "It's almost dead and if they lose power they'll have no way to communicate with us at all."

Victoria glared at him. "Why the hell is she walking around with a phone that's almost dead? Isn't she supposed to be some kind of technology wizard? And why the hell is my daughter with her?"

He felt rage welling up inside of him. "Our daughter," he spat. "And the better question might be why you didn't know where our daughter was, but I have the decency not to ask a question like that at a time like this."

"Alright you two." Jack stepped in, turning to face Billy. "Did Phyllis say how things were inside?"

Billy shook his head. "I can hear the alarm on the phone. It's still going off, but she had no idea it was a real fire, so clearly there isn't any smoke or anything yet."

The sound of shattering glass sent a wave of shrieks throughout the crowd. Firefighters rushed towards the building as police pushed the barricades further back.

"That's not her floor right?" The words fell from his lips as a question, but also as a plea.

Jack shook his head. "No..that's not her floor, but it's close. It's way too close. They've got to get them out of there and fast."


	3. Chapter 3

"What's that noise?"

Phyllis forced a smile as she looked down at Katie. Her eyes were wide with interest, curiosity, and perhaps a hint of fear. For the first time she noticed that she had Billy's eyes and she pulled her a bit tighter against her as she leaned down to touch her cheek to her head. "I'm not sure," she whispered, honestly wondering herself.

"We could go see?" Katie's eyes shimmered as she looked up at her, the fear now gone and replaced with an adventurous gleam that she also recognized—having seen it many times in Billy's eyes as well.

Katie wasn't going to be an easy child to keep in the dark. Until today, she'd almost never heard her speak, her interactions with the child having been limited to greeting her from behind her mother's back. Now though, she had warmed up to her and she could see the precocious nature and stubborn streak that would surely make this a difficult task.

"You know what?" Phyllis leaned down close, her voice lowering to a whisper as if she was divulging some closely guarded secret. "I have a better idea. Why don't you and I play a game?"

* * *

"Who are you calling?" Billy stepped in front of Victoria, determined to stop her incessant pacing.

"My father," she said quickly. "Maybe he can call someone…maybe he knows someone that can…"

"Victor?! Jesus Vic—your Dad can't fix everything. He can't save the world….you haven't figured that out by now?"

She opened her mouth, poised to respond with the same venom, but stopped as she saw Jack approaching. They both rushed to him.

"What did they say?" Victoria's eyes stared at him, her voice trembling as she continued. "They're sending someone in, right? They know there's a child in there?"

Jack nodded. "I told them Phyllis and Katie were both inside. I gave them detailed descriptions of the corridors and the stairwells. I showed them on the blueprints where the offices were."

Billy heard Victoria's sigh of relief, but the look in Jack's eyes kept his own mood tempered. His relationship with his brother was tenuous at best, but he still knew him. He knew the way he thought..the way he reacted. "Jack." He wanted to let it go—to choose to believe that everything would be fine now—that the rescue workers knew everything they needed to know and that they would do their jobs, but he couldn't…. "What aren't you saying?"

Victoria's body tensed and he heard her sharp intake of breath, her hand reaching out for his arm to steady herself. "Jack?"

His crystal blue eyes stared into hers for a moment before turning towards Billy. He'd been so angry with him for what he'd done—so full of resentment. Every day had brought another misguided idea of a vengeful attack…of some way he might right things, a way he might make himself feel a little more vindicated. Even in his darkest moments, he never wanted this. The words seemed stuck in his throat as he started to speak and he swallowed hard, his eyes softening again as he saw the desperation in their eyes. "They uh…they're worried about the structural integrity of the stairwell. They were hoping to be able to go in on a lower floor and do a quick sweep through the stairwell, but the blast….it…"

Jack stopped, seeing a look of recognition and resignation in Billy's eyes. "They're still trying. They haven't given up. They just said it's going to be more difficult."

"Ladders?" Victoria's voice was shrill and somewhat out of her control, "Don't they have ladders? They're firefighters for God's sakes?"

Billy touched her arm gently. "It's a high rise, Vic..."

"I don't care! My baby is in there! They can't just stand here and stare. They've got to do something!"

"They will." Jack repeated, his voice as strong as he could muster. His eyes moved to Billy again, "You said Phyllis hurt her foot? Would she be able to walk if she had to?"

"I don't know," Billy admitted. "I didn't ask a whole lot of questions. I was trying not to worry her. I was hoping I didn't have a reason to." The gravity of the situation began to take hold and he felt his heart drop. The thought of his daughter being inside that building terrified him to his core, and what should bring him comfort, the knowledge that she wasn't alone, instead brought about the possibility of the most horrific outcomes—he could lose them both.

* * *

"What kind of game?"

Phyllis felt a twinge of guilt as she saw the sparkle in the little girl's eyes. It seemed almost wrong to excite her over a situation that could end in such devastation, but the last thing she wanted was to scare her. "Well," she said as excitedly as she could, "Your Daddy said we are the only two people that stayed in the building." She forced a bigger smile as she saw Katie's eyes widen.

"Really?" she sighed, clearly impressed by such a feat.

"Yep," Phyllis confirmed, "And now there are people that are gonna come in and try to find us, but we're gonna stay in here and we're gonna hide."

Katie smiled. "I'm good at that game," she whispered, leaning in closer to Phyllis. "I play it with my brothers and they always lose. Johnny says he lets me win but I know he doesn't."

"I'm sure you're right," Phyllis said softly, reaching back to take off her jacket. She pointed to the stream of light that came in at the crack of the door. "You see that light?"

Katie shook her head.

"I need to take my jacket and stuff it against the door until you can't see any of the light anymore, okay? We don't want them to see it from outside and know where we are."

Katie grinned and rushed towards the door.

Phyllis breathed in deeply, bracing her hand on the desk and lowering herself to the floor. The lower they could get to the floor the better, or at least she thought that was what she remembered from the fire safety courses she'd taken in school. Katie was back in seconds, her face beaming in pride at the successful completion of her task.

"Okay," she said, looking at Phyllis curiously as she sat down on the floor in front of the desk. "Now what do we do?"

Phyllis reached out and took her hand, guiding her down beside her. She wrapped her arm around her small body, her eyes burning with the promise of tears as she felt Katie curl against her. "Now," she whispered, "we wait."


	4. Chapter 4

Billy lurched forward as he saw Victoria bolt, pushing through a small break in the barricade. Jack reached her first, grabbing her arm and pulling her back.

An officer stepped over. "Maam—rescue workers are doing everything they can, but we need you to stay back."

"How can you say that? How can you say that they're doing everything they can when they're all standing out here while my baby is inside?!" She turned back, her expression a mix of rage and fear. "Isn't there anything we can do?" Her eyes moved from Billy to Jack as she stood helplessly waiting for someone to say something.

"Excuse me." Billy ran alongside the barricade, trying to reach the fireman he saw up ahead. "Excuse me!" He heard the sound of Victoria's footsteps rushing up behind him as the firefighter turned to acknowledge him.

"Sir," he began, "We're doing everything we…"

"You don't understand," Billy interrupted, "My daughter and my girlfriend are in there. I just need to know what's going on."

"They're working to get some equipment set up now, sir. That's really all I can tell you. " He turned to move away.

"Phyllis!" Billy's voice rang out loudly enough to attract the attention of the crowd, but he didn't care. "She's hurt—her foot or her ankle—something. I'm not sure if she can walk. Can you see if…"

"Honestly Billy!" Victoria shoved him hard and he would have lost his balance were it not for the barricade behind him. He turned towards the firefighter again who now headed back towards the building.

"I was trying to get some information, Vic. That's all."

"Yeah, about Phyllis," she spat. "Do you even care that Katie is in there? Does it even matter to you that she could be in danger or are you so consumed with worrying about that…."

"You can stop right there." He felt his hands shaking and he shoved them into his pockets as he fought to control the anger that threatened to show itself in a most unproductive way. "Don't ever doubt my love for my children. I've done everything I can to make this entire situation easier for them and I'm not going to let you stand here and suggest otherwise. I'm also not going to stand here and let you say one bad word about Phyllis. Of course I'm concerned about Katie. She's my daughter and I love her, but I love Phyllis too and I will not apologize for being concerned about her. If that's what you waiting for…."

"I'm not asking you to apologize. I just wish you could prioritize the situation here. I mean we're talking about a child—your daughter. Phyllis is a grown woman. She can take care of herself."

"Alright. Alright." Jack sighed as he looked at them. "Everyone is upset here and we're all saying things that we don't really mean and…"

"Really Jack? You're really that determined to disagree with me about everything that you'll agree with her about this?"

"I never said I agreed with her. I just don't think now is the best time to be having this conversation."

Billy stared at him with venom in his eyes. "Right, because you don't give a damn about what happens to Phyllis either?"

"Of course I do. I don't want to see anything happen to either of them. I just don't see how standing here and screaming at each other is going to…."

"Wait. Wait…" Victoria pointed towards the side of the building. "What are they doing?"

"Mr. Abbott?" A rescue worker approached him with a the blueprint in hand. "The area on the blueprint here…how far is an office with an accessible window?"

Jack looked over to Billy. "Uh, my office…it would be just down the hall."

Billy watched as a few other workers approached and appeared to confer with each other. One turned back towards them. "Does one of you have a way to contact the woman inside?"

He bristled. "Phyllis. Her name is Phyllis. She's in the office with my daughter, Katie." He stopped, taking a breath. His anger and indignation would do nothing to help either of them now. "Yes. I do. I can call her cell."

The worker nodded towards him. "Do it," he said sternly. "We need to get them to a window and we need to do it as soon as possible."

* * *

Phyllis reached down, pressing the button on the side of the Ipad and turning up the volume. Every few moments brought the sound of another piece of debris falling or another pane of glass shattering, but there were no sounds of voices, no sounds of help.

"Bobo's loud," Katie said, looking up at her with an innocent smile.

"Yeah," Phyllis sighed. "That must mean you're winning." The faint smell of smoke had begun to creep into the room moments ago and she'd been surprised that Katie hadn't seemed to notice. At the moment she was so engrossed with the dancing elephant that nothing seemed to distract her. For a moment, she felt a little jealous—wishing she too could exist in that state of blissful peace, if only for a while.

She jumped as her phone sounded, the noise startling her.

Katie giggled. "It's just your phone," she said cheerfully, "Want me to get it for you?"

"Please. Just unplug it." Phyllis watched as Katie easily unplugged the phone and brought it to her. She placed the phone to her ear, almost afraid to hear the voice on the other end. "Hello?"

"Phyllis?"

The sound of his voice brought tears to her eyes. She could keep it together for Katie most of the time, but this…this was more than she could handle. A tear slowly fell down her cheek and she brushed it away quickly, hoping the little girl hadn't noticed.

"Billy," she said softly. "What's going on?"

"Are you okay?" he asked, seeing Victoria's expression out of the corner of his eye, "Is Katie okay?"

"Yeah, Katie's fine. She' still playing the game and we're okay. I'm just ready..We're just ready to get out of here."

"I know," he sighed. "I know you are. Listen, I'm talking with the rescue workers and they need you two to get to a window. Can you get to Jack's office and get to the window there?"

Phyllis stared down at her foot, the throbbing pain still increasingly present. "I can send Katie," she said hopefully, "but I can't stand….I don't think."

"Phyllis—you have to," he said, feeling his throat tighten with fear. "That's the only way…" He didn't want to say the words. "If you don't….I'm not sure they can…"

"Okay." Her voice shook as she answered. "I'll try."

"You can do it." He said he words as confidently as he could, needing to hear them himself as much as she did. "You're strong. I know you are and you can do this. Do it for me. Do it for Katie. She needs you. She's gonna be scared without…" He heard three short beeps. "Phyllis? Phyllis?" He pulled the phone away from his face, throwing it onto the ground. "Damn!"

"What?" Victoria rushed over to him. "What is it?"

"The phone died." He ran his hands over his face as he looked up towards the window.

"Can she get to the window?" she asked, her voice trembling as she stared into his eyes.

"She said she'll try," he said softly. He watched as one of the firefighters strapped on a harness. Turning back towards Victoria, he sighed, "They'll be okay," he whispered. "They will. Phyllis won't give up. She'll be fine and she'll make sure Katie is fine too. I know it."


	5. Chapter 5

"Not now, Jack." He glared at his brother as he spat the words through a tightened jaw and jerked his arm out of his grasp. "It's not the time."

"Just come here." Jack continued, jerking him further away and returning the exasperated glare until they were out of Victoria's earshot. "Now." He glanced back towards Victoria, ensuring she wasn't focused on their conversation. "What's really going on?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You can spout that crap to Victoria all day, but I can tell by the look on your face…something's not right. What did Phyllis really say?" Jack stared at him, his expression serious, the eyes that were typically full of judgment or condemnation now sincere and truly concerned.

For many months after everything had come to light, his anger had overwhelmed any other feeling he had. He couldn't feel anything—not even pain because of the need for revenge and redemption that seemed to permeate every cell in his body. In some ways he truly believed he hated her, not only for what she did to him, but also for what she'd done to the relationship he had with his brother. No longer could he look at Billy the same way. A brother, that had almost felt more like a son, was now a constant reminder of the painful end of his marriage and he resented the hell of out of her for that.

And then somewhere along the way…in a sense without even realizing it, the all consuming rage and need for revenge had seemed to dissipate—not completely mind you. There were certainly moments he still thought about things he'd like to say and do, but it wasn't the first thing that came to his mind in the morning and it wasn't what he drifted off to sleep thinking about. He was still angry—no doubt about it, but perhaps what made him most angry was the fact that he couldn't hate them, either of them, because they were too much a part of him. Billy would always be his brother and Phyllis would always be a woman he loved…maybe not in the same way, but those feelings didn't go away, regardless of a signature on a piece of paper.

His mind rushed back to the events at hand, his eyes still searching his brother's face for answers. "Billy," he said again, "I get that you didn't want to scare Victoria, but I know there's more than what you're saying."

There was a time and place for bravado, but this wasn't it. Normally he'd fight tooth and nail not to let his brother see his weakness, but right now it simply didn't matter. "I honestly don't know, Jack. She didn't really say. The phone died before she could, but it wasn't what she said even…it was…." He shook his head, the worry evident on his face as his looked at his brother, hoping he understood. "Her voice," he muttered, the words mere whispers…

Jack shook his head. "She's always so sure of herself," he said quietly, reaching out and clasping a hand on Billy's shoulder. "It's hard to hear anything else."

Billy nodded.

"But you know she'll fight. She'll do everything she can. It's what she knows how to do." Jack turned, towards the rescue workers as they began make their way up the building.

* * *

Phyllis swung her arm back, inhaling sharply, "Piece of sh…." She stopped, as she felt Katie's hand touch her arm.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…nothing's wrong." Her mind raced. They had to get to Jack's office which was just down the hall, a task that seemed much simpler for someone that could actually walk. She could roll herself down the hall in the chair, but that would take time—something they seemed to have little of.

Phyllis shook her head. How she got there herself wasn't her top priority. She had to get Katie to Jack's office…and that needed to happen now. "Hey, Katie," she whispered, another smile plastered on her face. "You know the game we were playing?"

Katie nodded, her eyes already widening with renewed interest.

"We're gonna change the rules a little bit."

"We can't." Katie's response was quick. "Mommy says changing the rules once you're already started is cheating."

Phyllis swallowed hard. "Mommy's right..most of the time it is, but not this time…this time we're not cheating…we're just making the game more fun." She closed her eyes in grateful thanks when Katie seemed to accept the explanation. "Okay," she continued. "I need you to walk over to the door and put your hand on it and tell me if the door feels cold or hot."

Katie scampered over the door, touching it quickly before pausing and touching it again. She returned back to Phyllis, her face serious. "Neither one," she reported. "It's feels kind of warm…like my face…see feel." She grabbed Phyllis' hand and pressed it to her cheek, the rosy red skin felt a bit warm to touch and Phyllis felt her heart drop a bit.

"Okay," she whispered. "I need you to stay right here for a minute."

Reaching out towards the edge of the table, she pulled as hard as she could to move the rolling chair towards the door. Using her foot she managed to reach the door without much trouble. Her hand pressed against the wood and she felt the definitive heat of flames. Carefully she pulled open the door, the smell of smoke wafting in from the hallway. She could see the thick black smoke pouring in from the vents and the heat seemed to rise as the air grew warmer. There was no time to wait.

"Katie! I need you to come here now!" Katie joined her quickly, her body immediately clinging to her as she saw the smoke in the hallway.

"What's the smoke from?" she whimpered, her once very grown up attitude now faltering.

"Shhh…." Phyllis pulled her onto her lap, reaching down and grabbing the jacket that earlier Katie had stuffed into the crack in the door. "It's gonna be okay," she whispered. "I just need you to turn around and give me a big hug."

Katie looked up at her, her eyes wide and fearful.

"I need you to do it now, Katie. Now."

Katie's arms were around her in an instant and Phyllis pulled the jacket over here and she used her leg to drag herself into the hallway. She held her breath as best she could as she forced the weight of her body towards Jack's closed office door.


	6. Chapter 6

Perhaps it was because the trips from her office to Jack's were normally fueled by rage, or maybe it was simply because time was of such importance in this moment—whatever the reason, Jack's office had never seemed quite so far away.

As she placed her hand on Katie's covered body she could feel the stifled sobs and she closed her eyes woefully. She wanted to comfort her, to promise her that everything would be okay, but she couldn't do that. For one, she couldn't lie to her, for another there simply wasn't time. The best she could offer was a gentle touch as she continued to drag her body across the carpeted floor. Jack's nameplate seemed to taunt her as it gleamed in the distance through the ever-thickening air.

"We're almost there, Katie," she whispered, her throat burning immediately as the smoke entered her airways.

The heat was becoming even more oppressive, a sure sign the flames and fire were getting closer. She didn't want to think about what could happen if they didn't reach the window in time. She'd heard stories of people being trapped in high rises and she could only imagine the torture they'd experienced.

Leaning forward as far as she could, she finally managed to grip the handle of the office door. With a burst of pure adrenaline, she pushed it open used her arms to drag herself through the threshold. Her foot throbbed in pain, but she couldn't focus on that now. She could see the window across the room and she knew it was the only way either of them would get out of that building alive.

"Katie." She felt the little girl move and watched as her head peered out from under the jacket. Tears streamed down her face and the once happy, carefree expression in her eyes had now been replaced by terror.

"Is this a bad dream?"

"No baby, it's not. I wish it was. It's okay to be scared, but I need you to try and be brave for me, okay?"

Katie nodded, breathing in deep and putting on her best brave face.

Phyllis smiled. "I need you to take this jacket and go close the door and stuff it at the bottom just like you did when we were in the other room."

Katie rushed over to the door and did as she was told as Phyllis struggled to move towards the window. Her eyes scanned the panes of glass, looking for a release latch. "No," she said out loud.

"What?"

The close proximity of the little voice startled her and she turned around, and fought the urge to cry. "The locks on the window are up very high, so we can't get them open like we normally would." She glanced around the room feverishly…looking for something that might break the glass.

The glass awards sat on the second shelf of the credenza. "Katie—you see those glass things up there? Can you climb up and get them for me?"

As she returned, bringing them back one at a time, she blinked in confusion. "Aren't these Uncle Jack's?"

"They are, but he won't mind if we use them when it's this important." She held them in her hand, feeling their weight and density. It should work. Leaning down, she gripped Katie's shoulders. "Listen to me," she said softly, "I need you to lay on the ground and cover your face. I'm gonna have to break the window so that they'll know we're in here and so that we can get out."

Katie's bottom lip trembled softly, but she didn't cry. Instead she nodded and did as she was told.

"Don't get up until I tell you to, okay?"

Phyllis drew in a deep breath and pulled back her arm. She thought about all the times she would have liked to hurl the awards at Jack in the past. She channeled all the rage and frustration she'd ever had and she aimed for the glass panes.

* * *

"What was that?" Victoria raced towards the building at the sound of shattering glass?

Jack and Billy followed, grabbing her arms and easily holding her back. "Hold on, Vic," Billy said, breathless with his own worry. His eyes searched the crowd for someone official—anyone that might have information. "Hey!" he called out, waving to a rescue worker who was gesturing towards the window. "What was that?"

The worker approached, nodding his head. "Looks like someone is breaking out a window inside. We haven't been able to make it up yet, but we've got people on the way."

"Is it her?" His heart pounded in his chest. "Can you see inside? Are you close enough to hear them?"

"Not yet," he said calmly, "But we'll let you know as soon as we know anything."

Billy watched as he walked away and back towards the building. "How can they just walk away like that…just walk away like it's nothing…like we should just be able to sit here and wait."

"I'm sure it's them, Billy," Jack said quietly, his hand resting on his shoulder. "You know Phyllis. She's resourceful and she's doing everything she can to make sure she and Katie get out of there. You have to believe that."

"I do..I just wish…" He stopped short as he watched a frenzy of activity at the side of the building. His eyes darted towards Jack. "Something's happening…why are they all looking up there?" His eyes followed the collective gaze as the lump in his throat grew larger. Something was coming out of the now shattered window, but it was a person….it was smoke.

* * *

"Phyllis…" Katie's voice shook as she lightly touched Phyllis' arm.

"Hang on, sweetie. I'm trying to get some of these jagged pieces out of the frame so neither of us gets hurt when we're trying to get out, okay?"

"But…"

It was something in the little voice…something different, not like a childish need for comfort, but more like a panic…it was something that told her she needed to turn around.

She pulled Katie onto her lap as she drew in a quick breath. The jacket once shoved at the bottom of the door to block the smoke was now smoldering as she thick swirls of smoke seeped in under the door. Waiting wasn't an option. If they were going to get out…they had to do it now.


	7. Chapter 7

He watched as she ran past the barricade and although he knew he should stop her, that it wasn't prudent or safe, he found himself running behind her towards the mass of sirens and rescue personnel.

"You've got to get up there," Victoria screamed, her composure and poise long abandoned. "There's smoke coming out of the window…that's their window…that's where they are. You've got to get to her. My baby…" She breathed in, feeling as if her chest couldn't contain the breath. She clutched at her throat, the smell of the smoke outside was oppressive, she could only imagine what it must be like within the walls of that building…where Katie was.

She turned to look into Billy's eyes and found him staring. He said nothing, his eyes fixated on the man being hoisted up towards the window. His heart pounded inside his chest, his legs threatening to give way. The words sounded garbled…

"We need you to move back, sir…Please, move back."

He took a breath, turning to look at the source, staring directly into his eyes. "Not until they're out," he said firmly. "Not until they're both out."

* * *

"Lean forward, sweetie." Phyllis pressed Katie as close to the window as possible, hoping the air would help cut through the thick smoke that quickly filled the room. She leaned forward behind her, her eyes closing in grateful thanks as she saw the man scaling the side of the building.

"Oh," she breathed before sputtering and coughing.

Katie turned back, her eyes full of worry.

"It's okay. It's alright." She ran her hand through the little girl's soft, blonde hair. "You see that man down there. He's gonna help us get out of here, okay? He's gonna carry us down."

"From all the way up here?"

She could hear the slight tremble in her voice despite her attempt at a brave face.

"Yeah, it'll be fun." She stopped, her mind trying to think of something, anything, to make this sound less daunting than it actually was… "you know what?" Her face brightened a bit as she looked into the pale blue eyes that stared at her. "It's like the rock wall at the park. Your Daddy showed me pictures of you climbing it. He told me all about how brave you were and how proud you were about getting all the way to the top. This is just like climbing down…it's just like climbing down a really big rock wall."

Katie rubbed her eyes, the smoke now beginning to take over the room, "It's harder to climb up," she said succinctly. "Down is easy."

"That's right." She managed a half laugh, as she pressed a quick kiss to the little girl's forehead. "Down is easy."

A face appeared at the window and Phyllis moved the chair as close as possible. "Thank God," she said aloud as she struggled to pull herself up. "What do you need me to do? How do we do this?"

"One at the time?" He said, his eyes scanning the smoke filled room.

Phyllis nodded. "Here." She lifted Katie, holding her out towards him. "Get her..Get her out now."

"Noooo," Katie held onto her hand, her eyes brimming with tears. "You come too. I don't want to go by myself."

"You have to sweetie. It's okay. I'll be there in just a minute. You go see your Mommy and Daddy on the ground, okay?"

Katie hesitated for a moment and finally released her hand, as tears streamed down her face. Phyllis turned, watching as the smoldering jacket began to flame.

* * *

"Katie!" Victoria rushed over to the side of the gurney, throwing her arms around the little girl. "Oh my God, Katie! Let me look at you." She pulled back long enough to give the little girl a cursory once over before throwing her arms around her again.

"Is she okay?" she asked the paramedic, who nodded kindly at her as she continued her routine checks.

"You okay?" Billy leaned in, pulling the little girl in for a tight hug and holding her close for a moment as his eyes already started to scan the area for Phyllis.

Katie nodded. "I'm okay, it wasn't as bad as the rock wall," she said quietly. "You don't have somebody to carry you on the rock wall."

Victoria furrowed her brow in confusion. "What are you talking about sweetie? What rock wall?"

"Phyllis said when the man got me it would be like the rock wall in the park…"

"Where is Phyllis?"

Victoria looked up, noticing Billy pacing back behind them. "Billy, Katie's talking to us."

"I know that," he said, "but she's okay and Phyllis isn't out." He turned back towards Katie, kneeling in front of her. "Sweetie, where's Phyllis?"

"They said one at a time," Katie said quietly.

Billy drew in a deep breath as he stood up slowly. Phyllis was still inside.

Jack walked over from the other direction. "Where's Phyllis?" he asked, the concern obvious in his voice. "She's not?" He pointed towards the window, the swirls of smoke now thick black clouds.

* * *

Her chest burned like the fire was inside her as she struggled to find a pocket of fresh air. She leaned towards the window sill, struggling to brace herself enough to lean towards the outside edge, needing as much of the outside air as she could get—feeling as if each breath gave her another moment.

Her ankle continued to throb and one look at it confirmed it was broken, the bone now twisted at a completely unnatural angle. She forced the chair closer, bracing against the window again as she pulled with her good leg. Suddenly she felt the wheels of the chair shift, the momentum of her weight causing the chair to move backward and she was helpless to stop it. Her body fell from the seat and she found herself on the ground, unable to find anything within reach on which to pull up. The smoke was now so thick that each breath became increasingly difficult and it would be so much easier to just close her eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

The sound was faint at first but with time it grew both in volume and desperation. She fought to open her eyes, the thick, oppressive smoke overwhelming her as she fought for breath. Her mind felt as thick and stilted as the air itself and she struggled to make sense of the sound.

Katie.

She groped around on the floor, searching for her, her hands finding nothing except burning ash and hot air.

"Ka.." Her voice stopped, her throat closing the air simply too much to take in. She felt her body relaxing again and she fought to keep her eyes open.

Katie.

* * *

The sound of glass shattering sent a gasp through the crowd. Billy felt a new wave of nausea come over him as he heard the rescue workers began to scream out commands, their movements now a flurry of activity.

Victoria approached him from behind with Katie in her arms. Katie reached out, softly his shoulder. "Where's Phyllis?" she asked softly, her bottom lip quivering a bit. "I want her out here."

He reached for her, taking her in his arms and pulling her close to him. "I do too, baby," he whispered. "I do too."

"Is she still inside?" Victoria's voice was hesitant as she stepped up to stand beside him. No matter how much she hated the idea of Phyllis and Billy together, there was no denying the depth of the feelings anymore. One look at Billy's face and she could see he was barely keeping it together.

"Do you see her here?" He closed his eyes as he heard his own voice. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I didn't mean to.."

"It's okay," she said quietly. "I understand. If it were Katie, I…"

Billy nodded, his eyes still fixed on the window.

"We got her!"

Victoria took Katie quickly as Billy took off towards the crowd of rescue workers.

"Sir, you've got to stay back."

"I just need to know if she's okay. Just tell me she's okay. Please." He'd rip them apart if they kept him from her—with his bare hands he'd tear them to pieces.

"We don't know anything yet. Let them do their job."

He could just see the outline of her body on the gurney. She was so still. "Phyllis," he screamed, hoping against everything that she could at least hear him—that she'd at least know he was there. "I'm here," he said. "I'm right here."

"We've got a pulse."

His body almost collapsed, sheer relief flooding every inch of him. He watched as they lifted her, moving her towards the ambulance. "Can I go with her?" The paramedic nodded.

"Quickly," he said, gesturing towards the inside of the ambulance.

Billy wasted no time as he rushed to her side, climbing inside the back and finding a small space to settle beside her as another paramedic worked on her. "Is it okay for me to touch her?" He was afraid to do anything, the smoke and ash that covered her body making him unsure of what if any burns or wounds she might have.

She smiled, her eyes softening a bit. It was obvious that he was shaken. "Sure." She paused. "Hey. It looks worse than it is. She's lucky. It was the smoke that got to her and we made it to her in time. We'll check out her lungs, make sure there's not damage, and she should be fine. She'll be back home with you before you know it."

"Thank you." He breathed finally, taking her hand in his gently as he used the other to trace her face. "You hear that, Phyllis? You're gonna be okay."

Her head shifted a bit and he leaned in closer. "Phyllis. Can you hear me?"

She struggled to move her lips, the name still screaming inside her head. Everything felt as if it were going in slow motion, as if she were trapped in concrete or quicksand. "Katie," she breathed. "Where's Katie?"

* * *

"Can someone please tell me what is taking so long?" Billy stood in front of the nurse's station, his hands clasped in fists, his patience long since expired.

"I'm sorry, sir. I don't know anything more than I told you five minutes ago. The doctor will be out as soon as he can and he'll give you the update."

His head fell. "I know. I know. I'm sorry. I don't mean to badger you. I just…I need to know something."

"If you'll have a seat over there," she said kindly, "I'll step in and see if I can find out anything for you."

Billy smiled gratefully as he headed towards the small waiting area. The ride to the hospital had been horrible. No amount of assurance that Katie was fine could convince Phyllis that she'd been safe on the ground when they'd left. Somewhere in her mind, Phyllis believed Katie was still in the building and, when he'd been unable to soothe her, the paramedic had finally had to sedate her.

It killed him to watch the look in her eyes, the frozen fear as she found herself unable to fight the powerful effects of the tranquilizer. He felt his own eyes burn with tears as he remembered the look of almost betrayal on her face.

"Mr. Abbott?"

He jumped to his feet.

"Yes?"

"You can come in now."

He stepped into the room, his eyes immediately falling on Phyllis who lay peacefully sleeping in the hospital bed. "Is she okay?" he asked, turning his attention to the doctor.

"Everything looks good. We'll keep her on oxygen for a bit, just to boost her saturation levels for a while, but other than that she was very lucky."

Billy took a deep breath, feeling true unfiltered relief for the first time all day. "And she'll be awake soon?"

"Yes," he nodded. "The sedative should wear off within the next few hours. Also, any confusion she had was probably the result of the oxygen deprivation and I wouldn't concern myself with that. That should all work itself out once she wakes up."

"Thank you." Billy repeated. "That seems grossly inadequate right now, but thank you." He extended his hand for a handshake and watched as the doctor left the room.

The small stool in the room would become his home until she woke up. He wouldn't move from that spot until he could look into her eyes and promise her that everything was right in the world again.


	9. Chapter 9

Billy sat up quickly, the sound of the sheets rustling beneath her hand rousing him immediately. "Hey," he whispered, moving a bit closer to her. "Hey, gorgeous."

"Billy?" She winced as the process of speaking suddenly became a horrifically painful process.

"It's okay," he assured her, handing her a small cup of water and cringing himself as he watched the pain on her face as she struggled to swallow it. "The smoke has irritated your throat and your lungs, but you'll be okay. It'll get better. You just have to rest."

Everything felt fuzzy as she lay still, simply trying to assess her current situation. Reality seemed to swoop down suddenly, the frightening truth slapping her in the face. "Katie," she yelped, the pain in her throat no longer a concern. She struggled to sit up, pulling at the lines and IVs that attached her to the bed. "I need to go.." The movement only made her breathing worse and she struggled to keep from coughing.

"Relax. Relax." Billy held her shoulders in his hands, his touch gentle but still plenty to keep her still. "Katie's fine. I promise you." His eyes met hers for a moment before he continued. "The firefighters got her out before they got to you. She's safe. You made sure of it."

The relief on her face was palpable and he felt her entire body relax against the pillows. His hands moved up to her face, his thumbs gently wiping away a few stray tears as they streaked down her smoke covered cheeks. "Promise?" she managed.

"I promise. She's perfectly fine—well, except for one thing."

Her eyes flashed in concern and he regretted his choice of words instantly.

"No. No.. She's just worried about you. You were the first thing she asked about. She wanted to know where you were. If you were okay."

"Ms. Summers?" The doctor stood in the doorway. "It's good to see you back with us."

Billy stood, kissing her forehead gently. "I'm gonna let the doctor check you out, but I'll be right outside, okay—and I'll be back in just as soon as he's finished."

He gently pulled the door shut, letting out a sigh of relief as he did. It was finally over and both his girls were safe.

"Billy?"

"Hey sweet girl." Billy bent down, sweeping Katie up in his arms and pulling her into a hug. As he held her tight against him, he looked at Victoria, his eyes serious. "This really isn't the best time, Vic."

She sighed. "I know. It's just Katie refused to go to bed until she knew Phyllis was okay and apparently what I said simply wasn't good enough. She needed to see her, so I thought maybe I could bring her here and just let her say goodnight."

He couldn't help but smile at the relationship that had begun to form between the two and he turned his head to look at Katie as she still sat with her head on his shoulder. "You want to tell Phyllis goodnight?" he asked.

"Uh huh," Katie responded with a small grin. "I want to make sure she's okay..cause she did."

The simple sweetness of the little girl's words made his eyes burn a bit and he ran his fingers through her soft blonde hair as he composed himself. "Well that's very sweet and I'm sure she'll be very happy to see you. You know she's been asking about you too."

Katie's eyes widened almost as big as her smile. "She has?"

"She sure has. She wanted to make sure that you were okay and that you were safe."

"Can I go see her now?"

Billy glanced back at Victoria who nodded as she managed a smile. "yeah," he said softly. "We've just got to wait until the doctor's finished and then we can go in and see her, okay?"

Phyllis looked up as the door opened, her eyes lighting up as she saw Billy holding Katie.

"Apparently great minds do think alike," Billy quipped as he stepped over to her bedside and let Katie crawl down onto the bed next to her. "Vic said Katie couldn't go to sleep until she saw you were okay with her own two little eyes." His gaze moved down to Katie. "So what do you think, does she look okay to you?"

Katie studied her face intently. "She needs to wash her face," she said simply, "but yeah, she's okay." She snuggled in against Phyllis, wrapping her arms around her and hugging her gently.

Billy swallowed as he saw the look on Phyllis' face. He turned towards the door, not wanting Katie asking a million questions about why his eyes were shiny. Victoria stood there, motioning for him to come outside.

"I'm gonna step out here for just a minute," Billy said quickly, internally dreading whatever fresh hell Victoria was about to dish out. "You two just catch up."

"What is it, Vic?"

"It's about what happened tonight, Billy?"

"What about it?" He sighed. It was clear Victoria and Phyllis would never be friends, but he had been naïve enough to hope they would be able to put their animosity aside for the sake of the children. Apparently that was not going to happen.

"It's just some things that Katie was telling me on the way home..some things that Phyllis did."

"Vic, for God's sake—they were in the middle of a fire! I'm sure Phyllis was a bit on edge and she might have said and done some things that weren't completely kid approved, but I'd expect you to cut her a little slack." His eyes flashed in anger. "I mean she did save your daughter's life. You could try a little gratitude."

"If you'd let me finish," Victoria said sharply, "That's what I'm trying to do. Katie told me how Phyllis made it all a game and how she covered her with her coat when they went through the hall, how she held her up to the window when they were in the office so that she could get the cleanest air, and how she made her less scared about going down the building by telling her it was like the rock wall at the park."

Billy was quiet for a moment as the words sunk in. He'd known that Phyllis had been concerned about Katie, but he hadn't allowed himself to think about what it had really been like inside those walls. The thought of her putting Katie ahead of her own safety meant more to him than she could ever imagine.

"I'm never going to be Phyllis' biggest fan," Victoria said honestly, "but I'd like to thank her for what she did for Katie tonight." She paused as she locked eyes with Billy. "If you think that's okay."

"Yeah," he sighed. "I think that's nice."

* * *

"What'll happen to the elephant game?" Katie asked sadly, thinking about the ipad that was now surely ruined in the building.

"Oh, well, we'll just have to find the game on another ipad, huh? I'm sure Bobo can play with us there." She couldn't help but smile as Katie's eyes lit up again.

"Why don't you have a little girl?" she asked quietly as her fingers traced the waffle weave pattern of the hospital blanket.

"Actually I do have a little girl. Her name is Summer, but she's all grown up now." Phyllis wrinkled her nose up as she looked down at Katie. "So, I don't have any little girls of my own to play fun games with."

"That's okay," Katie said happily, "I'll play with you. I like playing with you. You're fun."

Billy slowly pushed open the door, allowing Victoria to walk in first. Phyllis sat up a bit, unintentionally bracing herself for her usual encounters.

"Hi, Phyllis," Victoria said softly, feeling a bit on edge and more than a little out of practice being civil.

"Victoria," Phyllis responded, "Thank you for bringing Katie by. I was worried about her and I'm very glad to see she's okay."

"Well, that's because of you."

Phyllis blinked slowly, wondering if the smoke inhalation had also impacted her comprehension. "What?"

"Katie's okay and that's because of you. I want you to know that I know what you did for her tonight and I know that there's a very real chance that things wouldn't have turned out the way they did without your help." She took a breath before continuing. "Thank you for saving my daughter. I'll never be able to repay you for that, but I want you to know that I appreciate it more than I'll ever be able to say."

"You're uh..you're welcome," Phyllis managed, her voice faltering through no fault of the irritation. "I would do anything for Katie or Johnny. I want them to be happy and healthy and safe and I would treat them like I'd treat my own children."

"Yes, well, I just wanted to tell you that and to thank you in person for what you did." Victoria smiled, feeling relieved and more than ready to leave the pressure filled room. "Come on, Katie." She smiled down at the little girl who still remained curled up next to Phyllis. "It's time to go. It's way past your bedtime."

"I don't want to go," Katie whined. "I want to stay with Phyllis and Daddy. I can be a good nurse, can't I?" Her eyes moved to Phyllis and then immediately over to Billy.

"Sweetheart, that's just not a good idea. Phyllis has to stay in the hospital and this really isn't a good place for little girls."

"Actually," Billy stepped up behind Victoria, his voice lowered enough so that Katie wouldn't hear. "They'll release Phyllis tonight. I can take her home and if you'll let her, I'd love for Katie to come home with us."

Victoria turned around quickly, her eyes wide. "What?"

"Come on, Vic. You said it yourself. Phyllis saved Katie's life. Don't you think it's time to let her spend time with the kids? What's she got to do to prove herself to you? I know you don't like to let go..of anything, but just this once—maybe you could try. The kids won't love you any less, even if they start to love Phyllis."

He could see the words resonate within her and he held his breath as she turned around to face Katie. "Alright," she said softly, "You stay with Phyllis and Daddy tonight. I'll come and get you in the morning."

Her eyes met Billy's and she saw him shake his head. "Actually, your Daddy can bring you home when you're ready." She smiled as Billy mouthed his thanks.

"I'll run home and pack a quick bag for her. Maybe you can pick it up on your way home?"

Billy nodded. "Sure."

He watched as she kissed Katie's forehead and whispered goodnights in her ear before rushing out the door. For a second, he thought of going after her, of making sure she was okay—knowing the decision to let go had been difficult for her.

But only for a second. The impulse passed as he looked back over to the bed and saw Katie's eyes drooping as she lay curled up against Phyllis. Tonight, he thought with a smile, he would get to bring both of his girls home.


End file.
